Katey Lovell

I'm a dreamer, always have been.  Since childhood I've had wild fantasies about dabbling in all kinds of different professions. In (roughly) age order I've wanted to be... A nurse A writer (because I wanted to be like Enid Blyton) An artist A ballet dancer Kylie Minogue A librarian An Olympic gymnast A writer (again, because I wanted to be like Judy Blume) A Red Coat at Butlins A journalist An actress A nurse (again - I actually applied to do a nursing degree at this point) A teacher Manager of a nursery A librarian (again - and I did get a job promoting library services to under 5s) A burlesque performer A professional book reviewer A writer (again, because I wanted to write a Christmas book) My mum has never been the pushy type but she's always encouraged me to strive to reach my goals.  Sure, being Kylie was never likely, but she still put up with me perfecting the dance moves to 'The Locomotion' and when I...

I've been a terrible blog-keeper.  Again. There's no excuse, other than I've been ridiculously busy.  Again. I genuinely want to get into the habit of blogging regularly, and my plan (again!) is to post at least once a month, whether that's an update of what's happening with my writing projects, or something related to my interests (most likely books, music and theatre).  I'm going to schedule it into my phone, so if nothing appears you have every right to prod me on social media! But for now I guess it's time for me to fill you in on my news... THE PARK BOOK     Thank you to everyone who's bought, read and reviewed The Café in Fir Tree Park .  Since the ebook release on May 26th, so many readers have contacted me to say lovely things about Maggie, Fern, Lacey and Pearl.  Not to mention Paolo (and Matt, Warren and Carrick) who've also captured people's hearts!  I'm so proud of this book and knowing yo...

Rainy days and Mondays always get you down?  Well, fear not!  I'm here to bring a sprinkling of sunshine to this drizzly February day by revealing the cover for my next novel The Cafe in Fir Tree Park .    Books Covered (who've designed all my Harper Impulse covers) have hit the jackpot once again - I can't stop staring at the gorgeously vivid colours which grace the cover of my next release.  The vibrant blue sky perfectly compliments the uplifting romances within the novel (which is by and large a heart-felt story of family, love and friendship) whilst the silhouetted shadow of the café itself represents the secrets and fears held by the four main characters, Maggie, Pearl, Lacey and Fern.     I'd love to hear your thoughts on the cover - is it what you expected?  The Café in Fir Tree Park  will be published by Harper Impulse (ebook May 26th 2017, paperback 10th August 2017) and is available to preord...

I finished the copyedits for The Café in Fir Tree Park last week!  I can't deny the huge relief I felt when I pressed the 'send' button and pinged the final 297 pages of manuscript over to my editor at Harper Collins, and I'm hoping there won't be any more changes now.  Ebook publication day (May 26th) is drawing ever nearer. I've taken a much-needed week away from drafting/edits and have come back to my laptop refreshed and ready to tackle my next projects (yes, multiple projects, because one book at a time is obviously not enough of a challenge). Although quite different in style and content, both the novels I'm working on are set in Manchester.  The first, a contemporary Christmas romcom, will be published by Harper Impulse this winter.  I've written around half of it already, and (at the moment) I'm really enjoying working on it.  I do love a festive book!  I've made trips to Manchester to reacquaint myself with the ci...

I'm delighted to share that my new novella is now available to download - and what's more, it's free !  Harper Impulse have published  Three Men and a Maybe just in time for the festive season (the story itself is set on New Year's Eve), and I like to think of it as my Christmas present to you, the readers who've been so incredibly supportive throughout 2016. I'd love to hear what you think of Cerys, Ricky, Huw, Angelo and the rest of the gang, so please do let me know!   The Blurb It’s the age-old saying. You wait all day for a bus, and then three come along at once. But proposals? That’s just ridiculous. And yet, on New Year’s Eve, as the countdown finishes and the whole pub erupts in celebrations, Cerys finds herself staring at her ex-fiancé, Ricky. Who just so happens to be kneeling on the floor, ring in hand, asking her to marry him. Again. And if that weren’t enough, hot barman Angelo, and longtime friend Huw also decide to pop the question. ...

Despite the best of intentions I've not managed to keep up my weekly musical blog posts.  I'm sorry!  Life's become rather busy lately - the day job has been hectic and I've also had deadlines for editing and proofreading the novella I wrote over the summer (more news on that very soon.  I had a sneaky peek at the cover art for it this week and am totally in love.  It's the perfect sibling for the cover of 'Singalong').  The first draft of next summer's novel is also due with my editor at the start of December so I've been fervently tapping away on my laptop to try and get it ready to send. However, I'd have loved to have found time to write about Grease as it's one of my very favourite films and also Chicago , which my husband and I saw on Broadway during our honeymoon in 2005.  I wish I'd had chance to write about how West Side Story makes my heart hurt, and how when I wa...

The third meeting of The Singalong Society for Singletons has the group gathering to watch one of my very favourite films.  The Sound of Music is a musical my mum and I watched together on the small screen many, many times throughout my childhood and teens.  She first saw it at the cinema with my dad, and as well as the film we also had the soundtrack (on vinyl, naturally) and the sheet music - these were songs I knew inside out from a young age.  It's probably why I still hold them close to my heart. Julie Andrews is absolutely spectacular as keen-but-hopeless nun Maria and I never fail to be moved by the blossoming romance between Maria and Captain von Trapp.  Add to that the humour, the heartbreak and the beautiful score, and it's plain to see why The Sound of Music has lasted the test of time. Treating my mum for her 70th birthday Whilst the film remains ever-popular, I've also been fortunate enough to see the sta...

It's Friday 16th September, which means one thing - it's time for Monique, Issy, Hope and Connie to settle down to watch Disney's The Lion King ! From the moment I decided to write a book about musicals, I knew I had to include The Lion King .  It's one of my favourite musical films, with a winning combination of a nigh-on perfect score, angst and humour in equal measure and a plot that'll have you hooked from start to finish ('This one was based on Hamlet, you know,' [Mon] continue[s], gesturing towards the TV.  'And no one would dare to call Shakespeare piffle.  He's the greatest playwright that ever lived.')  I have fond memories of watching it at the cinema when it was first released and my DVD copy is rather well-worn. But although the film is incredible in its own right, nothing can compare to the glorious spectacle that is The Lion King on stage.  The costumes, the lighting, the puppetry...it's a full-on feast for any fan of ...

It's now just five weeks until The Singalong Society for Singletons starts winging its way onto ereaders everywhere, which is really, really exciting (but also a smidge terrifying too).  So I think the time has come for me to tell you a bit more about it! The Singalong Society for Singletons is the story of Mon, a twenty-something teaching assistant whose long-term boyfriend Justin has moved to Chicago for a year with his job in banking.  Mon shares a terraced house with her teacher workmate Issy who longs for a loving partner and child more than anything in the world.  They spend their evenings drinking wine and watching Frozen, their comfort-film of choice, until one night when Mon's sister Hope unexpectedly arrives on their doorstep with her own relationship woes... The young women find that when your heart is breaking, there's nothing better to do than sing it out and The Singalong Society for Singletons is born!  Mon, Issy, Hope and Mon's be...

Here it is - the beautiful cover for my debut novel The Singalong Society for Singletons!     I am absolutely thrilled - the warm colours perfectly capture the feel of Autumn evenings, the subtle music notes and songbirds hinting of the music within and the hills representing my adopted (and leg-ache inducing) city of Sheffield, where the novel is set.  Books Covered have done an incredible job!  I'd love to know what you think of it too...   The Singalong Society for Singletons is published on October 7th by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins who also published The Meet Cute Series, and is available to preorder now.   So what's it all about?     THE BLURB   Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope m...

Wedding season’s in full swing and not just in real life – this week sees the first Meet Cute wedding when The Boy and the Bridesmaid is released on Thursday 16th June.   But as well as one of the couples tying the knot (I won’t tell you which!) there is, naturally, another meeting...   I wrote The Boy and the Bridesmaid not long after my best friend’s wedding, when the excitement and promise of a couple committing to each other was fresh in my mind (they’ll be celebrating a year together on 20 th   – happy anniversary Jen and Chris!)   But of course, along with the romance that is an intrinsic part of any wedding day, there’s also an enormous amount of stress involved.   For the bride and groom (and possibly their families too) there’s the expense and the desire to provide a fun and memorable day for both themselves and their guests.   For the wedding party there’s the pressure of speeches or readings.   For guests there are issues ar...

  For someone who’s never so much as dipped her toe into the world of surfing, I’ve always had a quiet fascination with it.   Maybe that’s partly to do with my age – when I was growing up Baywatch was practically compulsory viewing.   Add to that holidays to Newquay in Cornwall where I’d marvel as surfers on Fistral Beach showed off their skills and that's probably where it all started.     Although I’ve never wanted to get on a board myself (I’m actually laughing at the thought – I’d be terrible!) there’s something incredibly soothing about watching people working in tandem with nature to explore movement.  It's dangerous, exciting and beautiful.  And though those who've mastered it make it look easy, I have no doubt that it's challenge enough staying upright, let alone doing tricks.  When I visited Venice Beach earlier this year I'd hoped to see some surfing but although there were hopefuls waiting to catch a wave, the ...

I've been meaning to write this post for a year.  Yes, you did read that right - A YEAR.  March 31st 2015 was the day I got 'the call' from Charlotte at Harper Impulse offering me my very first contract.  To say it was a total shock is an understatement - I'd submitted  The Meet Cute  to so many publishers and agents without success that I'd all but given up hope of them getting published.  In fact, I wasn't even sure which submission Charlotte wanted to talk to me about because I'd subbed to Harper Impulse so many times over the previous year! It sounds like the biggest cliché, but as soon as Charlotte said she loved the Meet Cute collection and wanted to publish them as individual releases (I'd put them forward as an anthology) it was like a weight had been lifted.  Most writers get attached to their work - I think that's normal, actually - but I'd really felt like this series needed to be 'out there'.  It felt f...

It's almost publication day for The Boy with the Boxes ! The Blurb Rosie's starting afresh.  Her best friend and former housemate is starting a new life in Australia leaving Rosie to move into a new flat on her own.  But when she meets her next door neighbour, Rosie realises she may not be quite so alone after all... This is a really special story to me as it's as much about friendship as romance. I dedicated this one to my best friend because not only has she shown me endless support , she genuinely believed in me and my writing, way back from when it was fan fiction in my teen bedroom.  I hope this Meet Cute makes her smile. The Boy with the Boxes is dedicated to Jen The Boy with the Boxes will be published by Harper Impulse on April 7th 2016 and is available to preorder now Amazon UK Kobo Sainsbury's  

Publication day is always exciting (I should know, this is my fourth in the past three months!) but this is a particularly special one.  I've always loved Christmas and harboured secret dreams of having a festive book with my name on it long before I truly believed my writing would be published.   With the support of my wonderful editor Charlotte Ledger,  The Boy under the Mistletoe  is let off the reins today, just in time for Christmas.  I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it, but I hope you love it as much as I do.  It's my favourite story in the Meet Cute series.  Writing about fairy lights, mistletoe and party nibbles was great fun, but it's Chelsea, the tired shop girl who's reluctant to go to her Gran's Christmas eve party that I loved most.  She's feisty and grumpy, but deep down she's a romantic too.  I'd love to write more about her one day! Thank you so much to everyone that has supp...

For ten years, I worked - and I use the word 'worked' very loosely - as the pop page editor for my local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo. Bearing in mind the job involved free CDs (back in the days when people still used those...), free concert tickets, and interviewing some of the biggest names in showbiz, it wasn't exactly lacking in the fun department. In fact, I can't remember most of the 1990s - it's all a big, smiley-faced blur.   I always tried to get along to as many gigs by local bands as possible, and built up good relationships with them - and, as it turned out, one in particular. I went along to an acoustic night to see a friend's band appear, and the MC for the night was young (seven years younger than me in fact, which makes me borderline cougar), cute, and immensely talented. When he contacted me a few weeks later to see if I'd be interested in featuring him on the pop page, I was excited - for all kinds of reasons.   The 'inter...

It doesn't seem all that long since I first shared the covers for the first three titles in the Meet Cute series, but now that advent's approaching it's time to unveil the cover for The Boy Under the Mistletoe !  The team at Books Covered have excelled themselves and designed a stunning Scandi-Christmas themed cover which stands out from the crowd whilst being instantly identifiable as a Meet Cute story.  I can't put into words how much I love it!     This time it's the story of Chelsea and Simeon's meeting.  Surrounded by twinkling fairy lights and antique glass baubles (along with a bowl of Twiglets - because let's face it, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Twiglets), it's a full-on festive story with an unconventional meeting.   The Boy Under the Mistletoe is published in ebook format on December 17th 2015 by Harper Impulse, the digital first romance imprint of Harper Collins. It is available to preorder now.   ...

It's two and a half weeks now since the release of the first Meet Cute story,  The Boy in the Bookshop . And what a crazy time it's been!  I've been overwhelmed by the support people have shown me and am thrilled by the response to Jade and Marwan's story.  Comments in Amazon reviews have ranged from 'absolutely delightful' (thank you Laura Holdsworth) to 'a heartwarming short story with the feel good factor' (thanks Amy Ellis), and it climbed to 1,881 in the overall Amazon rankings - beyond my wildest dreams for my first short story! The Boy at the Beach was released the following week and Toby and Lauren have won over readers with their immediate chemistry with one reader (RatherToFondofBooks on Amazon) saying 'this story cannot fail to make you feel smiley' - such a lovely comment for any writer to hear!  There was also a very exciting moment where Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark, who inspired the character of Toby, tweeted t...

I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to share the cover of my short story  The Boy at the Bakery with you all!  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I couldn't have been more delighted with it.   The Boy at the Bakery is part 3 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  I hope readers everywhere fall in love with Cole and Lily!  And did I mention Cole has a dimple? Dimples are my kryptonite...   The Boy at the Bakery is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins' on November 12th 2015 and is available to pre order now.   Amazon UK   Amazon US   Kobo   Nook      

Here's the eye-catching cover for The Boy at the Beach , the second short story in The Meet Cute series.  Isn't it fun?         The Boy at the Beach is part 2 of The Meet Cute series but can also be read as a standalone quick-fix of romance.  This time it's the story of brash club-rep Lauren and DJ Toby, and their meetcute in Magaluf is one of my favourites of the series.  I can't wait to hear what you think of it when it's released in November!   The Boy at the Beach is published by Harper Impulse, the digital-first romance imprint at Harper Collins on November 5th 2015 and is available to pre order now. Amazon UK Amazon US Kobo Nook